Magnetic fastening devices



May 3, 1960 H. c. HAUSMANN 2,935,662

MAGNETIC FASTENING DEVICES Filed May 23, 1955 64m A M United States Patent MAGNETIC FASTENING DEVICES Henry C. Hausmann, Forest Hills, NY.

Application May 23, 1956, Serial No. 586,752

2 Claims. (Cl. 317-159) The present invention relates to magnetic fastening devices used in place of pins, clips, buckles, catches, buttons, snaps and the like. This invention is applicableto articles of jewelry, pendants, medals, tags, clothing accessories, and generally in such instances where'a permanent magnet device is used as an attaching or securing means.

The use of a magnetic device, for instance to attach a brooch onto a dress, avoids piercing the fabric and hence obviates zones of pin holes which damage the finer materials and mar expensive fabrics. In order that the attachment be secure, the magnetic hold must be quite the hold. Many a time, attempts to separate the brooch from the dress, injures the fabric if same is sheer or flimsy in texture.

It is therefore the principal object of this invention to provide a novel and improved magnetic attachment device of the character mentioned, which will haveits hold nullified substantially by a simple low-force manipulation, whereupon the attachment is practically undone and the parts which were held together either separate automatically or are separable then, extremely slight force.

A further object thereof is to provide a novel and-improved magnetic attaching or fastening device of-the type set forth, affording easy release, which is cheap to manufacture, simple to use and efiicient in carrying out the purposes for which it is designed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this disclosure proceeds.

This invention, in practice, may assume the following strong. This requires appreciable manual force to undo by the applicationof an form. The distal ends of a permanent U-magnet carried by the article to be attached, contact the front surface of the garment at a predetermined location, while a magnetically attractable strip is set in contact with the back surface of the fabric and extends across the regions of both of the magnet poles. The magnet is of course of sufiicient strength to cause the fabric to be clasped by said magnet and metal back piece which is held by magnetic attraction. An implement is provided to release the magnet hold. Such may be an iron piece movably carried on the ornament or other article secured to the magnet, or such iron piece may be on the magnet itself. Such iron piece is normally away from between the legs of the magnet, but is shiftable to lietherebetween and contact same, thereby shunting the magnetic path and making the magnet ineffective, wholly or nearly so, whereupon the magnet and said back piece become loose or separate entirely. The attached article is thus detached from the garment.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

ferrous material and the latter being of iron.

Patented May 3, 1960 "ice Figs. 1 and 2 show the brooch carried on a piece of fabric as for instance on a lady's dress.

Fig. 3 is a rear view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is like Fig. 3, but the back plate is removed so that the magnet andits associated slide member is exposed to view.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the magnet enlarged.

Fig. 6 is aperspect've view of the slide member with end lateral lugs omitted in order to attain clarity of illustration.

Fig. 7 shows, the inner surface of a back plate on which the magnet shunting member is mounted. This is a modified construction.

Fig. 8 is a section taken at lines 8-8 in Fig. 7.

In the drawing, the numeral 15 designates generally a hollow brooch comprising a dished shell 16 closed by a back plate 17, thus oflering a housing for the U-shaped magnet denoted generally by the numeral 18 and for the movable member indicated generally by the numeral 19 which serves as the implement to nullify the force of attraction of said magnet on the iron strip piece 20.

.Parts 16 and 17 are of non-ferrous material. Part 18 is a slide between the legs 21 of the magnet, very near their distal ends 22. These ends extend'through holes 23 in the back plate 17. The slide 19 is made of two abutting sections 23 and 24; the former being of non- This slide 19 is shiftable so that either of its said sections lies between the magnet legs. The front surface of the brooch may be ornamented in any desired fashion. No such embellishment is shown.

It is evident that when the ferrous section 24 of the slide 19 is between the magnet legs, the force of the magnet will be substantially nullified because of the shunting of the magnetic path, whereupon the metal piece 20 is either completely released from the hold of the magnet or is easily detachable because of the diminuation of the magnet pull. Said magnet is of cource of substantial force so that the brooch 15 stays mounted securely at any desired position on for instance a dress 25, where the distal ends 22 of the magnet contact the front surface of the dress and the iron piece 20 is across the regions of said magnet ends on the inner surface of the dress.

For the brooch 15 to stay mounted, full magnet play is necessary. Hence in normal use condition, the nonferrous section 23 of the slide 19 is positioned between the magnet legs. If desired, said slide may be springbiased to normally maintain such position. One way of doing this is to provide the slide with the lugs 35 and 36 as shown in Fig. 4. Lugs 36 act as stops against the magnet legs, while a compression coil spring 26 about the slide and acting against the magnet legs and the lugs 35, serves to hold the slide in said normal use position. A finger pin 27 extending from said slide 19, through an elongated slot 28 in the back plate 17, is used to shift such slide to bring the ferrous section 24 between the magnet legs to eifect release of the brooch '15. Such movement of the slide causes said spring 26 to become stressed, so it is evident that when the pin 27 is let go, the slide will automatically return so that its non-ferrous section 23 is again between the magnet legs. It is evident that the magnet, instead of being on the decorative member 16, may be easily assoicated with a medal, tag, pendant, button or other desired item; the important parts of this device being the magnet 18, the implement to release its hold, meaning the movable shunting member 24 and the armature 20. The mentioned uses are readily understandable to persons versed in this art without further illustration. Attachment of such articles would be onto the yoke 18' of said magnet.

Though it is most practical to have the parts 18, 19,

and 20 as a unit for commercial sale, itmay be desired to have the shunting slide 19', mounted on the inner surface of the back plate 17' as shown in the Figs. 7 and 8. Here, holes 33 are provided to receive the distal ends 22 of the magnet 18 in the same manner as shown in Fig. 2; the positioning of such magnet being aided by the dados 31. The slide 19' is positioned between the legs of said magnet which guide itsmovement. There is a slot 28' through the back plate 17, along the line of movement of the slide. The shank of a rivet 37 is secured to said slide 19' and extends laterally therefrom through said slot. Said slide is in contact with the inner surface of said back plate 17'. The head of said rivet is in contact wtih the outer surface of said plate and is used as the finger piece for moving the slide 19. The slide 19', like slide 19, is in two sections, one ferrous and one nonferrous. When the non-ferrous section thereof is between the magnet legs, the magnet strength is undiminished. When the ferrous section is between the magnet legs,.the attractive force of the magnet is substantially if not entirely nullified, as has been already explained herein.

As to Fig. 2, it is evident that the back plate 17, may be omitted. In such case, the magnet would be attached to any item 16, by use of a bolt, rivet or other suitable means at the yoke 18'.

This invention is capable of numerous forms and various applications without departing from the esesntial .features herein disclosed. It is therefore intended and :desired that the embodiments shown herein be deemed illustrative and not restrictive and that the patent shall cover all patentable novelty herein set forth; reference being had to the following claims rather than to the specific description herein to indicate the scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In combination with an article to be set on the exterior surface of a piece of apparel made of a nonferrous sheeting, a U-shaped permanent magnet fixed to said article so that the poles of said magnet extend rearwardly of said article, a first ferrous element positioned across and held in attraction by both poles of said magnet at the distal ends of said poles; said ferrous element when in use being positioned against the rear surface of said piece of apparel and said magnet and the article it is fixed on, when in use, being positioned on the exterior surface of said piece of apparel, a slide member comprising a non-ferrous element in extension of a ferrous element; said slide member being slidably mounted on the magnet near the distal ends of its poles, for movement on the magnet between the legs of said magnet and stop members extending from the ferrous element and from the non-ferrous element which comprise the slide member; said stop members being adapted to be intercepted by the magnet upon movement of the slide mem ber in either direction, so that when the stop member on the ferrous element of the slide member is intercepted by the magnet, such ferrous element will be positioned between the poles of said magnet and in contact with both of them and when the stop member on the nonferrous element is intercepted by the magnet, such nonferrous element will be positioned between the poles of said magnet and in contact with both of them.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1, including a tensed compression coil spring about the slide member acting against the stop member on the ferrous element of the slide and the magnet, whereby said ferrous element on the slide member is normally away from between the poles of said magnet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 293,338 Many Feb. 12, 1884 1,299,096 Ames Apr. 1, 1919 2,117,132 Baermann May 10, 1938 2,179,305 Stickney et al. Nov. 7, 1939 2,297,352 Goldberg Sept. 29, 1942 2,363,914 Wakefield Nov. 28, 1944 2,389,298 Ellis Nov. 20, 1945 2,397,931 Ellis Apr. 9, 1946 2,615,227 Hornik Oct. 28, 1952 2,659,169 Brennan Nov. 17, 1953 2,816,254 Canepa Dec. 10, 1957 2,888,617 Baumet May 26, 1959 

